Edmonton Oilers' Ryan Nugent-Hopkins off to NHL All-Star Game

After locking horns with foes Jonathan Toews, Anze Kopitar and Ryan Getzlaf for far too long, Edmonton Oilers’ centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins may find himself on their side at the NHL’s all-star game in Columbus January 25.

EDMONTON – After locking horns with foes Jonathan Toews, Anze Kopitar and Ryan Getzlaf for far too long, Edmonton Oilers’ centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins may find himself on their side at the NHL’s all-star game in Columbus January 25.

RNH will be the Edmonton Oilers’ rep in the mid-season affair, the first time he’s ever been selected; every team has to be represented and the two captains, as yet unannounced, will pick the lineups for the two teams, independent of what conference they play in. It’s the first all-star game since 2012 because of the lockout in 2013 and the Olympics in Sochi last winter.

The last Oiler in the game was Nugent-Hopkins’ line mate Jordan Eberle in 2011 in Ottawa. Ales Hemsky was picked in 2010 for the game in Carolina but was hurt and didn’t play. Sheldon Souray (2009), Shawn Horcoff (2008), Ryan Smyth (2007) also went in the past eight years. The Oilers haven’t had more than one player go, however, since 2001 in Denver when Janne Niinimaa and Doug Weight were selected.

“It was cool to get the news,” said Nugent-Hopkins, who has 25 points and leads all forwards in NHL ice-time at 21:17, just ahead of Philly’s Claude Giroux (also an addition) at 21:12. “I’m sure it’ll be lots of fun.”

“It’s going to be different playing with guys I go against…I have played with some of them at the world championship so I know some of them but a lot of these guys have been to all-star games many times. It’s going to be cool to meet some of them,” he said.

There was no all-star game in the WHL when RNH was in junior in Red Deer with the Rebels, so it’s been awhile since he was in one. “Maybe as far back as major midget (B.C.). They had a skills contest but the game was hard fought,” he said.

NHL all-star games are always run and gun. The last one was a 21-gun salute 12-9 in Ottawa. Defence is optional in these affairs; so is hitting. “We’ll be throwing the puck around and hoping to run up the score as much as possible,” said RNH.

Nugent-Hopkins didn’t have to cancel a Caribbean holiday over the all-star break with the Oilers last game Jan. 20 in Washington to end a four-game road trip. “I didn’t have anything planned (beach and sand). I was thinking of staying close to here.”

Hawks’ forwards Toews and Patrick Kane were voted on for the game along with the defence pair of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook and goalie Corey Crawford, as the voters in Chicago went crazy. Buffalo’s Zemgus Girgensons led everybody in votes, piled on by folks in Latvia.

Edmonton Journal hockey writers Jim Matheson and Joanne Ireland, sports columnist John MacKinnon and sports editor Craig Ellingson talk about: the impact coaching changes and newly acquired players have had on the last-place NHL team; the deterioration of forward Nail Yakupov’s ability to score and whether or not he should be traded; rumoured shuffling in the scouting department; probable future trading moves that would involve the departures of defenceman Jeff Petry and goalie Viktor Fasth; and the long-term need to acquire bonafide No. 1 goaltending.

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